welcome back to "cnn newsroom." we're watching the president's nomination of two key national security positions. just moments ago the president nominated chuck hagel, the former republican senator from nebraska to be the next secretary of defense, succeeding leon panetta, and he nominated john brennan, counterterrorism homeland security adviser in the white house to be the next director of the cia, succeeding the acting director, mike morell, who took over in november when john david petraeus stepped down following an extramarital affair with his biographer. the president made it clear he wants the senate to confirm these nominations quickly, especially chuck hagel, because there has been some controversy over the nominee. listen to the president. >> chuck recognizes that american leadership is indispensable in a dangerous world. i saw this in our travels together across the middle east. he understands that america stands strongest when we stand with allies. and with friends.

as a successful businessman, he also knows that even as we may tough fiscal choices, we have to do so wisely, guided by our strategy and keep our military the strongest fighting force the world has ever known. maybe most importantly, chuck knows war is not an abstraction. he understands that sending young americans to fight and bleed in the dirt and mud, that's something we only do when it is absolutely necessary. >> let's go to brianna keilar, white house correspondent. the president knew there was going to be controversy over these past few weeks in the buildup to this nomination. there has been a lot of statements made about chuck hagel, his positions not only as far as iran and israel, syria, other countries concerned, but on other unrelated issues including his position on gay rights back in 1990s. but the president said he's the right man to succeed leon panetta. how difficult of a decision was

this for the president? >> reporter: i think speaking to what john king said before, i think part of the issue here was that chuck hagel certainly is someone that the president has familiarity with. and talking to sources here at the white house, wolf, for how much controversy there is around this nomination, this is something that those close to president obama feel good about, that they feel ultimately he will be able to clear the senate and this was something obviously that was out there for some time. and that this was a decision that the president came to perhaps not too difficultly. but i think something that struck me and we just heard what president obama said there, was that when he referenced that chuck hagel knows america stands strongest when it stands with allies, that seemed to be answering that criticism that some have had about his position on iran, some critics particularly republicans saying that he's been soft on iran, that he hasn't been a friend of israel, the white house has been emphasizing that while hagel has been skeptical as they put it of unilateral sanctions against

iran, they have been stressing his votes, supporting sanctions against iran and the context of a coalition including the u.s. sort of opposing iran with the sanctions. and that is obviously something he'll emphasize in his confirmation process. the other thing, wolf, i think this factored into the decision to choose chuck hagel to be secretary of defense is the changing role as we see that troops -- the 68,000 remaining troops in afghanistan will be coming home. the white house sees this as a changing role for the defense department that a lot of the future role will be geared towards supporting troops and obviously the issues that we have seen following combat already that they have had in recent years. and that military families have had and they feel the -- the president felt that hagel, having experience with the u.s. and the department of veterans affairs he was well kwpd aequipd his personal experience as a soldier he was well equipped to tackle the issues.

>> a sergeant in the u.s. army during the war in vietnam, enlisted, first enlisted man who will be secretary of defense assuming he is confirmed. stand by. let's go capitol hill. jim acosta is up on the hill. jim, the confirmation process is going to begin. there is going to be a senate armed services committee hearing as far as hagel is concerned. a senate intelligence committee hearing for john brennan to be the cia director, foreign relations committee will deal with john kerry as the next secretary of state. those guys up -- and gals up on the hill will be busy. what does it look like now? we're already starting to get reaction in to chuck hagel and john brennan. >> reporter: that's right. carl levin, the chairman of the senate armed services committee, he came out with a statement saying that he does support the nomination of chuck hagel, dianne feinstein also came out with a statement saying she's in support of chuck hagel. we're seeing some democrats coming out of the wood work here to offer up their defense for this nomination for second of

defense. but, wolf, i just had a few moments to talk with dan coats, the seminar from indiana, republican who had served here on capitol hill for a long time, took some time off and came back to the senate just recently, and he once was nominated or not noom natured but in the running for secretary of defense, that went to donald rumsfeld. he said a lot of times it will seem like you're a shoen -in fo one of the positions and then if may not work out that way. he's going to reserve judgment on that until the confirmation hearings until the hearing occur. he said he is very concerned about some of the positions that chuck hagel has taken on a number of issues. i asked him about the comments that chuck hagel made in 2006. he said that those comments are a concern, he wants to hear chuck hagel's explanation for the comments. he is sort of taking a wait and see posture in terms of what he

will eventually do in terms of that nomination. so not quite as stridently against this nominee as we heard from other senators, senator john cornyn who said he'll oppose this nomination and lindsey graham who made tough comments on the sunday talk shows yesterday. we're seeing the spectrum here, wolf, of -- in terms of how the senators are responding to this nomination as just going to show you how very intense and how the fireworks might be flying a little bit once these confirmation hearings get going, wolf. >> jim acosta, thank you. peter bergen is our national security contributor. let's talk about john brennan for a moment. john mccain saying he's going to have serious questions about where john brennan stood as far as those enhanced interrogation techniques were concerned dealing with detainees at guantanamo bay and elsewhere, the critics call it torture. you study this closely, peter. >> i think john brennan will be

in an interesting situation when he goes to the confirmation hearing because on the one hand, there are plenty of people in the cia who would claim enhanced interrogation techniques are helpful in the war against al qaeda. and so if he says, well, they weren't, that is something that won't go down too well with some of his future colleagues at the agency assuming he's confirmed. on the other hand, you know, if he says that these techniques produced useful information, that may not go down very well with the senate intelligence committee, which after all has publicly said, senator dianne feinstein, the leader of the committee, saying the techniques have nothing to do with how osama bin laden was finally captured. so that's going to be a kind of fine line to kind of walk. and as fran townsend -- on other hand, wolf, as fran pointed out, when john brennan was at the agency, he wasn't making policy. he was the executive assistant for george tenet, the cia

director. but i didn't mean he was in charge of policy. but i think it is -- he's really the first nominee for this position who was at the agency and a relatively senior position when the things were happening. previous nominees have been outsiders like petraeus, or bob gates who -- sorry, petraeus or others who didn't necessarily -- weren't involved at the time when this was going on in any senior position. >> stand by, peter. i want to go to barbara for a moment, barbara starr, our pentagon correspondent. what kind of feedback are you getting from folks over at the pentagon, barbara? >> reporter: well, at the pentagon, wolf, they know one of the major issues that chuck hagel is walking into when he comes there will be the budget, how to cut defense spending. and, you know, this is not -- this is a pentagon political issue inside the corridors of the pentagon. it requires managed expertise. does the secretary of defense

really understand where the various political levers are in the pentagon that he needs to work on? where the influence is? how a budget is formed? who has the power? inside the military, in this very complex process and can he impact it? when you hire a secretary of defense, to some large extent you are hiring someone for that management expertise. the pentagon is one of the largest organizations in the world, and you need somebody who knows how to run it. that's what a secretary of defense does. the other big issue that he's walking into that people will be watching very closely, how he will advise on committing the use of military force. you know, we're talking about all these big grandiose issues. what if the first day on the job the syrian regime implodes and you have a crisis where chemical weapons might theoretically be on the loose, heaven forbid? what is chuck hagel's advice, how does he advise president

obama, how do they determine what is going on? in washington, the best laid plans tend to go awry because sometimes, some day, reality intercedes and you have a crisis. how chuck hagel will deal with all of that and the day to day management will be the key issues that everyone will be watching. >> and he's been on the defense policy board, so he's very familiar with all of these issues. stand by. i want to play a little bit more of what the president had to say about senator hagel. >> chuck hagel is the leader that our troops deserve. he is an american patriot. he enlisted in the army and volunteered for vietnam as a young private and a sergeant. he served with honor alongside his own brother. when chuck was hit by shrapnel, his brother saved him. when his brother was injured by a mine, chuck risked his life to pull him to safety. to this day, chuck bears the

scars and the shrapnel from battles he fought in our name. chuck hagel's leadership of our military would be historic. he would be first person of enlisted rank to serve as secretary of defense. let. >> let's talk to someone who knows chuck hagel rather well. steve clemens. thank you for coming in. give us the single best reason why you support this nomination of chuck hagel to be defense secretary. >> i think that a defense secretary in this age needs to revision the pentagon and figure out how you going to create security deliverables for the united states and the world, in a time of budget austerity. and i think that he understands the roles and missions of the pentagon. i think he understands and has the stature and command

competency to wrestle with the generals and admirals which he's going to need to do. i think he knows the ins and outs of congress. so i think in this time that national security is really at a vital turng point and it is very, very important at the end of the day that the united states reinvents its leverage in the world and not send the signal that it is diminishing and pulling out of many of its vital interests. i think hagel will be able to walk that very fine and complicated line. >> one criticism he's been getting is that he really doesn't have the experience in managing a huge bureaucracy like the pentagon. is that a fair criticism? >> i think -- you know, he was president of the uso. i wouldn't call it a huge operation. he saved the uso from bankruptcy. was the president of it in 1987 to 1990. he has -- he's one of the bluntest people i know, blunt may not always be great, but he's very blunt. he's very fair. he's judicious. he's unsentimental in the sense

that he doesn't let emotion get the best of him. he calculates what is i think in the best interests of the organization he's running and frankly i think of the united states. and thinks in a strategic way. we're often captured in our media, our tv, trying to think about this issue or that, siloed off from many other equities the united states may have elsewhere and it requires a strategic sense to figure out how and when you're going to deploy power. it takes a strategic sense to advise the president of the united states to some degree on how to best work through this rebalance from the wars we have had in south asia and the middle east to asia. and i think hagel will have the sense of how to work with the command staff and the joint chiefs in -- to achieve the kinds of strategy and strategic direction that president obama is taking the country. >> steve clemens, thanks very much for joining us. i want to bring in gloria borger. i've known senator hagel for a long time.

you've known him as well. very smart guy. he's obviously highly qualified. there will be confirmation controversy no doubt, but in the end, given the fact that the president refused to be capitulated, refused to back away from this nominee, i suspect that hagel will be confirmed rather handily. >> right. well, and in the end there are people who are going to oppose haguele w hagel who believe the president ought to be given the right to nominate whoever he wants as the secretary of defense. they may oppose hagel in theory but may end up voting for him. i want to add, wolf, we have just gotten an interview that chuck hagel has given to the lincoln journal star in nebraska in which he says his record has been completely distorted by his critics and that he looked forward to having an opportunity to set the record straight. and he says, quote, there is not one shred of evidence i'm anti-israel and not one senate vote that matters that hurt

israel. so we look forward to hearing him explain his record. >> a lot more of that during the q & a, during the testimony. gloria, thanks very much. that's it for me. i'll see you 4:00 p.m. eastern in the situation room. our special coverage, though, will continue with brooke baldwin right after this. what are you doing? nothing. are you stealing our daughter's school supplies and taking them to work? no, i was just looking for my stapler and my... this thing. i save money by using fedex ground and buy my own supplies. that's a great idea. i'm going to go... we got clients in today. [ male announcer ] save on ground shipping at fedex office. [ male announcer ] save on ground shipping are you flo? yes. is this the thing you gave my husband? well, yeah, yes. the "name your price" tool. you tell us the price you want to pay, and we give you a range of options to choose from. careful, though -- that kind of power can go to your head. that explains a lot.

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nation's spies. what john brennan's election would mean for the so-called kill list. plus, as james holmes appears in court, a warning to the families of the aurora movie theater shooting. be prepared. it's about to get graphic. and his clients include katie holmes, cameron diaz, nicole richie, and you. now a fashion icon is missing after his plane suddenly disappears. hi, everyone. i'm brooke baldwin. good to be with you on this monday. i promise we'll get you much more on the president's national security choices in just a moment. but first, really a gut wrenching scene unfolding right now in a colorado courtroom. prosecutors are laying out some of the gruesome details of last summer's mass shooting inside an aurora, colorado, movie theater. alleged gunman james holmes is

not expected to enter a plea today. he's charged with murder, attempted murder, weapons violations, 166 counts in total here. this preliminary hearing they say should last multiple days. you remember this story. 12 people were killed, at least 58 were wounded, 22-year-old steven barton was one of them. he is now an advocate for tighter gun control. and earlier today he talked to cnn about what he hopes to get out of today's hearing. take a listen. >> i obviously don't want him to walk. but, you know, as long as he doesn't see the light of day again, doesn't really much concern me beyond that. to me, i see the trial as being an opportunity to learn more about what happened that night beyond just my own personal recollection. the trial won't change the fact that it happened. it is in the past as far as i'm concerned now. the best thing to do is move forward now and ensure that with strong gun laws, with mental health reform, that we don't have these issues in the

community in the future. >> want to take you straight to centennial, colorado, casey wian covering this for us today. i hear the court just now going into recess, but bring us up to speed what has happened so far today. >> reporter: very dramatic testimony, brooke. they are in a recess right now. the testimony at this preliminary hearing began right away with several police officers who were at the scene. the first officer to be called was named jason obiatt. he was on a routine traffic stop, rushed to the movie theater, encountered a man in the parking lot behind the movie theater. he initially believed, he testified, was another police officer. he was wearing a helmet, a gas mask, military style clothing, then as he got closer, he realized that something was wrong, something was different. he saw who he testified was james holmes with his hands on top of this white vehicle with a handgun on top of the car. he ordered james holmes to put his hands up, drew his gun on

the suspect, and he says that james holmes immediately complied with everything that he and other officers requested. now what is key about this is that the defense attorney who also questioned this officer was very interested in this testimony because the officer testified that holmes seemed very out of it. he did not put up any kind of resistance at all, even when being dragged away from the scene. the officer said normally people stiffen up. he said he was completely relaxed and he seemed completely detached from the entire experience. so that could be the type of testimony that a limited mental defense type of defense could use to their advantage. now, more officers took the stand, really heart wrenching, graphic testimony, the kind of testimony that victims' families were warned would happen in the preliminary hearing. justin grisle, he choked up when

describing the scene. he said there was so much blood on the floor of that theater that officers were slipping -- to his car who were so bloodied, he couldn't even tell their race, nor their sex. he also talked about a man and his wife who he pulled out of the theater, that both of them were shot, either in the head or the face. kept asking for their young daughter, where she was. at this point, the audience members in the courtroom started to get choked up as well. a third officer came and took the stand, testified that he was the one who found that little girl, found that she had no pulse and she had been killed, brooke. >> it is awful. awful for us to hear the details, let alone a family member who lost someone or someone was injured. we'll be talking next hour to the stepfather who lost his little girl, and he'll talk about why he chose not to go to the courtroom. instead, he apparently getting updates through texts. we'll ask him about how this is affecting him today. we'll also talk what happens

next, that legally speaking here in this case in colorado. it has been missing since last friday. today, hundreds of people are searching for the small plane carrying the director of a popular missoni fashion label, his wife, others were on board. a live report next on the search and the future of the brand as well. e 24/7. oh dear, i got a flat tire. hmmm. uh... yeah, can you find a take where it's a bit more dramatic on that last line, yeah? yeah i got it right here. someone help me!!! i have a flat tire!!! well it's good... good for me. what do you think? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

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friday. they were heading from the exclusive island of los racos to the capital of venezuela, and this was in the middle of the day here, couple of minutes after takeoff, the plane vanished from the radar. known for its signature zigzag design here, missoni line has some big name clients. you have nicole richie, katie holmes, cameron diaz. its line is also at target stores. if you remember this, it sold so fast, target's website crashed. i want to go to cnn international security correspondent paula newton who joins me now here. paula, this route here apparently this route is a well known drug smuggling route. do police at all suspect foul play? >> reporter: no, not yet. a lot of these rumors actually are coming from people close to the family. and this is the case, brooke, you can imagine in their position, you're holding out any hope you can.

and the reason is that there has been no wreckage found and no reason that the plane would have gone down. no bad weather, so they believe that perhaps maybe the plane was somehow involved in some kind of sky jacking, kidnapping, but at this point they're really grasp agent straws. the problem is still searching in this area, even though the weather has been good, brooke, searching a needle in a hay stack. six people on board that plane, nothing found yet to give them any clues as to what might have happened to it. most here suspect it would have been some catastrophic mechanical failure. the family, as i said, in a statement saying that they refused to give up hope. >> so the family not yet giving up hope. i want to ask about the brand, as we mentioned, this is a massive global brand. we know missoni was on his way to milan to italy to unveil this new collection there. are there plans to cancel the collection? if the worst case scenario ends up being true, what happens to

this family empire long term? >> reporter: you know, this is a large, close knit iconic italian brand and family. luka missoni is here in venezuela. he's a pilot. he's -- though he runs the missoni empire with his brother and sister, he's looking for his brother. they are a close knit family. they're saying the show will go on. they expect to go on with the fashion show this weekend. this brand isn't going anywhere. but what a devastating thing to have to go through for this family. and clearly he was a linchpin. what was going to happen and what vittorio was hoping to launch was to take this brand further and really get into a point where they could actually double, triple, quadruple revenue. and really make it an iconic brand. doesn't mean it won't happen, but for now this family dealing with quite a tragedy. >> paula newton, thank you so much. coming up next here, how john brennan at cia could mean big changes in president obama's drone program. we brought back someone who talked extensively here about this so-called kill list.

you've done extensive investigating, tom juneau, welcome back. citracal slow release continuously releases calcium plus d with efficient absorption in one daily dose. citracal slow release. with efficient absorption in one daily dose. we replaced people with a machine.r, what? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it?

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bottom of the hour here. i'm brooke baldwin. we knew there would be a fight. but the president's choice of john brennan to head the cia may lead to one as well. though brennan says he is not affiliated with any party, his critics say he's too closely tied to the former bush administration. you see, he was a senior cia official at a time when interrogation techniques, ie waterboarding, were used. then there is the question of drone strikes and how brennan

might use them at the cia. brennan shaped the obama administration's policy on drones, using them more often and with more lethal results. these two questions certainly will be coming up at john brennan's confirmation hearingings at a time when challenging cabinet picks is becoming routine. >> used to just be supreme court justices who inspired these sort of partisan free for alls. now it is bleeding down into a president's cabinet picks as well. >> i want to bring back tom juneau, writes for esquire magazine. we talked so extensively about drones. wrote this phenomenal piece in esquire back in the summer. question number one being, you know, during the confirmation hearings, do you think it will be more of a defending, that john brennan will be defending his use of drones or distancing himself from it? >> i don't know if he has to defend it. it seems -- there really is no force within the congress who is

anti-drone who i think is -- i think that this is an opportunity to make him defend the drone program, but i don't know if that's going to come up. >> you don't think people in your piece will be calling for more transparency. >> i think people within the piece, people that you -- from the outside, but the question is whether people with power are going to be calling for more transparency. >> you said something interesting in a commercial wrea break, i want to bring it up again. he's been the moral spokesperson when it comes to droenz. >> he made several high profile speeches, basically making a just war argument for the drones. a lot of the people who are the sort of central to the administration's drone program are roman catholic and just war is a sort of -- came out of a roman catholicism. he has made that argument, the moral argument for the drone program, starting back at around 2011. >> something else he's done, peter bergen talks about the

shift under brennan has been more toward yemen. we talked exclusively -- extensively about yemen. in your piece, you talk about anwar al aleak awlaki and his 16-year-old son. do you think the shift might prove to be problematic for him or not? >> he has -- at the white house, he has apparently acted as a break for the cia. >> how do you mean? >> there was a big conversation over this summer about basically whether the drone program should be sort of centered in the cia or in the white house through the department of defense. he has been a proponent of sort of shifting the center of the drone program to the white house, and the military. now he's going to the cia. but the thing about john brennan is that he has made -- argued quite persuasively for drones.

i don't see him sort of putting on the brakes at all at the cia. >> what about the opposite of putting on the brakes. you see speeding up? >> wherever he has gone, he has sped up the program. he is the spokesperson for the drone program. i cannot see him all of a sudden turning back on that. >> what about the use of enhanced interrogation techniques, ie waterboarding. brennan says he's never supported it, but that the bush administration used it extensively. will that pose a problem for him? >> in confirmation? >> yes. >> i don't think so. because basically in 2008 that was a problem for him. but we have gone for four years now. the obama administration has sort of left that question in the dust. president obama himself has basically called for the nation to move on from that. he decided when he -- >> saying it is old news. >> it is old news.

we're not going to hold people accountable for that. we sort of left that conversation in the dust and have gone on to this new conversation which is the conversation about drones. basically the people that we sort of -- that would have once been interrogated really are now under the obama administration and now under john brennan, you know, being eliminated. >> tom junod, i'm sure you'll be watching the confirmation hearings closely as will we. we appreciate it very much. now to this. two big college football teams, both with pretty impressive football pasts, playing for all the glory tonight. you have alabama. you have notre dame. the bcs national championship game tonight, kickoff 8:30 eastern time. one team's past has been better lately, though. the crimson tide is achieving dynasty status in football. alabama looking for its second straight national championship and third in the last four years. those are some pretty impressive

statistics. you have the fighting irish, notre dame, more of a rising from the ashes story line here. the undefeated top ranked fighting irish playing in their first championship game since 19 -- outside of sun life stadium. give me a preview. these are two teams with very rich traditions, put it in perspective for a cnn audience. why is this so huge? >> reporter: it is huge because you have two storied programs. and i want to apologize because they're actually doing the national anthem behind me and i don't want to talk over the end of it. i'll let that finish real quick here as they finish up. ♪ and the home of the brave there you go. i didn't want to be disrespectful there. basically you have two amazing programs here with notre dame and alabama playing in south florida tonight for the bcs championship game there are so many great stories with each team. with notre dame, manti te'o, who is the leader, not only on the

field, but off the field for notre dame and the notre dame defense. he's the most decorated defensive player in the history of college football. heisman trophy runner up, and he told us it was really great bringing his parents in from hawaii so they could be a part of all of the celebration in new york. >> for me to be able to go around on the circuits and see my parents and see my dad take pictures of food in new york and us driving around new york, i'm, like, dad, we complain about the tourists in hawaii and them driving ten miles per hour on the highway. and what are you doing? it is just water. just coconut trees and you're taking pictures of lasagna. for me, that's the joy. i think that's what life is all about. >> so you have manti te'o from notre dame and then a.j. mccarron, the inspirational

leader of the crimson tide, a quarterback for the crimson tide. he met a girl named starla about a year ago. and starla chapman was a 3-year-old in an intensive care unit in mobile, alabama. when he gave her a christmas present, on christmas eve, she gave him a wristband that said just trust. he pl he wore that in the national championship last year. and as he wore that, she was on the brink of death. after she wore that, she's been on the road to recovery and her cancer is in full remission. a.j. said he's blessed to be able to touch people in that way. >> i've been blessed enough to be in a position to kind of touch people's lives and inspire them in certain ways. and she was a blessing to me. just kind of met her on that christmas eve, that day at the children's hospital and just

kind of -- a relationship has taken off from there. >> reporter: and when you seeage tonig a.j. on the field, he will be wearing that wristband. he has not taken it off since she gave it to him, over a year. when he had shoulder surgery, he told the doctors, please, do not cut this wristband off of my wrist at any time. so some amazing sties here. not only an amazing matchup between storied programs, you have such inspirational stories with the players that are here. >> what an adorable little girl. carlos diaz, thank you for sharing the back story there. we appreciate it. as far as the game tonight, far from adorable, tough, brutal. and coming up next hour, we'll be talking to alabama alum and hall of famer joe namath. he'll be joining me from miami. that should be fun. that's coming up next hour. certainly stay tuned for that. coming up next, chris christie makes a surprising comment about a possible, possible presidential run in 2016. plus, he may have lost, but

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some of the hottest stories in a flash, rapid fire. roll it. >> first up here, the washington redskins may have lost more than just a playoff game last night. look away, ready skins fans. look away. you have your star rookie quarterback robert griffin iii who aggravated a knee injury earlier in the game, buckled his knee, trying to rally the team in the fourth quarter, had to come out of the game. he is having an mri today.

many redskins fans awaiting the results. after the game, head coach mike shanahan explained why he stuck with rg3. here he was. >> robert said to me, coach, there is a difference between injured and being hurt. he said i guarantee i'm hurting right now. i'm not injured. so that was enough for me. >> the only time i couldn't play is when i went down. i took myself out of the game. that's the way you have to play it. governor chris christie said he would be more ready for a presidential run in 2016. he decided not to run last year, tossed his support behind mitt romney. fast-forward to now, christie's approval ratings sky high. and talking about re-election this year, he just told one newspaper that his time in office so far validates his vision for the future. hmm. in washington state, just east of seattle, search teams have been scouring the rugged

foothills near mount si looking for curt rupp ert, an experienced skydiver from florida. he vanished on thursday after jumping out of a helicopter at 6500 feet. he was wearing a special wing the suit that lets him glide through the air ratherage th the fall. this means he could be miles from where he jumped. >> really focus in on the cell phone pings from the first night and the helicopter flight path. >> the search has been call ed off so far today while crews wait out bad weather and heavy fog in that mountainous area. if you have tweeted anything since 2006, heads up, consider it archived. the library of congress says it preserved, you know, just about 170 billion tweets sent between the years 2006 and april of 2010. the library and twitter signed an agreement two years ago that would keep a database of all public tweets. the library says it is working on a good way to make the tweets available for you to see and

search if you would like. up next, a cnn exclusive, as egypt's president opens up about the growing violence in syria and how it could spread to other parts of the middle east. mom? i know you got to go in a minute but this is a real quick meal, that's perfect for two! campbell's chunky beef with country vegetables, poured over rice! [ male announcer ] campbell's chunky soup. it fills you up right.

egypt's president tells cnn he supports calls for syria's president to be tried for war crimes in a conflict that ma fear will bleed into turkey. today, u.s. planes loaded with patriot missiles landed in turkey and those missiles are meant to ward off scud missiles that have been fired out of syria, in some cases in the direction of the turkish border. syria's government has denied it fired the scuds.

and just yesterday, its leader met with cheers, gave a rare public speech there. bashar al assad blamed, quote, enemies of the people for syria's problems. >> translator: this is a government who wanted to take revenge against the people, and to fragment syria. those are the enemies of the people. and the enemies of god, and the enemies of god will go to hell. >> but the president of egypt says al assad is the one responsible for the bloodshed that killed a reported 60,000 syrians in the last two years here. mohamed morsi spoke yesterday with wolf blitzer. >> translator: it is not i who wants this but the syrian people who want this. this phase is the phase of the people, similar to what the egyptian people wanted, the seer

syrian people want it and we support the syrian people and they are going to win and they have the will to win. >> you say the syrian people want bashar al assad to be tried for war crimes. >> translator: the syrian people drew their revolution and through the movement will, when the bloodshed stops, move to a new stage where they will have an independent parliament and the government of their choosing. and then they will decide what they want to do against those who committed crimes against them. it is the syrian people who decide. >> and please stick around for more of wolf's exclusive interview with president morsi during "the situation room" all this week. up next, as rape allegations against two high school football players rattle a small town in ohio, i'll speak live with someone who embedded themselves in one of these small towns where football is king. wait until you hear what he experienced.

in steubenville, ohio, rape allegations against two football players are casting an ugly and unwelcome shadow over the entire town. >> we lifted the big red rug. we saw the muck and now we sweep the filth for jane doe. yes, yes! >> a rally here. this is just this past weekend on behalf of the alleged victim in steubenville has helped propel this town into the national spotlight. and not a lot of people here who live in steubenville, they're not thrilled about this. >> the buzz that keeps coming about is that steubenville is a bad place, things are being covered up, more people should be arrested. and i feel that's all unjustly so. >> why? >> because i think that to

condemn an entire city for something that happened is not right. to condemn a school, an entire school, all the kids that go there for something that took place among a few students is still not right. >> social media on fire since the story broke last august. even though two 16-year-old boys are already charged, police have been accused of covering up the full extent of the alleged crime to protect the town's popular football team. sheriff, though, strongly objects to that. >> people say why haven't you arrested more football players? testimony has already been presented by three individuals who were there, who witnessed what transpired. and what they testified to, that there were two, only two individuals having sexual contact with that female. >> rape charges are bad enough. but when the suspects are high school football players, in a

town where football is the big show, obviously can cause all kinds of emotional turmoil. for that, bring in drew jubera, covered all kinds of high school football, wrote a book called "must win". it is about the high school football program, not too far from atlanta, in valdosta, georgia, the significance really of this program to that entire town. so welcome to you. i know i'm sure you've been following what has been happening in steubenville and the story that rocked this town to its core, to its soul. but just paralleling this in one sense, these are two separate stories, but in valdosta, friday night, what's it like? >> it is the show. friday night is, you know for, these towns friday night is the theater opening, the wine tasting, it is the ipo, it is the big deal. it is the only thing that in a town like that where you'll get 10,000 people to show up in one place. that's what it is. >> and it is also the kind of thing that brings people, bonds

people, because you write about much like if you look at the demographics and the situation in steubenville, economically depressed, write about valdosta, divisive racially, drug problems, not a lot of opportunity for youth. on friday, it is like that, poof. >> that's right. the football team is seen as helping unite a lot. in some instances it can cover things up as well. problems as well. but on friday night, everyone is there together. >> let me pick up where you left off there. in these towns, like a steubenville, like a valdosta, these players are the town heroes. >> that's right. >> can they do wrong? >> you know, they can do wrong and, you know, often wind up in jail. you know, my book opens up with a kid who is listening to the opening of the valdosta season while he's in jail because he couldn't get out in time. but, you know, there is -- the difference is, you know, to me, these towns have to make the decision between being fanatical

and almost perverse. and it can be a thin line. and, you know, it is up to the town, to school administrators, and especially coaches to figure out what that line is. >> there are concerns in steubenville, i talked to a defense attorney last week about how, you know, he's concerned that in a town of some 18,400 people they can't get a fair trial. take a listen. >> to a point, our concern is that his right to a fair trial is anyone's right to a fair trial is being hijacked. we live in a country where the greatest legal system in the world. and it is only great because the system actually works. but for it to work properly, individuals who are concerned must participate. and one of the main concerns we have is that this matter has been -- by special interest groups all over the world, tried in the court of public opinion. and in the court of law, there are rules that would exclude

such information and evidence as being inadmissible, inflammatory, misleading, and misconceptions, so therefore not relevant. >> so, drew, just using valdosta, because that's what you know, had this happened in valdos valdosta, georgia, do you think it would be possible that two young high school football players could have gotten a fair trial? >> i think so. but, you know, as has happened in steubenville, you know, these kids and the town is so interconnected. you know, and not just interconnected -- interconnected for generations often. so i remember going into interview a deputy sheriff and i walked in and he has his touchdown club plaque behind him and all the team paraphernalia behind him. that doesn't mean he can't do his job and in fact -- >> several have recused themselves in this case, a juvenile judge, county prosecutor, because of that. >> these connections go back to fathers and grandfathers and that sort of thing. it is unlike, you know, in a college or professional setting where the players come from, you

know, a college a thousand miles away in a hometown a thousand miles farther than that, these are kids that everyone knows, everyone grew up with and they know their families. >> and they go cheer them on friday nights in a town like steubenville, more than half the town's population can be seated in the big red stadium. drew, your book is "must win ". thank you for coming in. a great perspective. thank you. now to this, life, life is about to get a little more expensive for us. in addition to your groceries, can you guess what will cost you more this year in 2013? made a list for you coming up. can cause cramps.mx but phillips' caplets don't. they have magnesium. for effective relief of occasional constipation. thanks. [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'. [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. i've got two tickets to paradise!l set? pack your bags, we'll leave tonight. uhh, it's next month, actually... eddie continues singing: to tickets to... paradiiiiiise! no four. remember?

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perhaps you heard, notre dame, alabama, that's all coming up. first, we have to talk washington, battle weary, but not backing down. the president is setting himself up for another capitol hill confirmation. not over money here, but over the men he wants to lead both the pentagon and the cia. this afternoon, president obama nominated chuck hagel to be his next secretary of defense. and john brennan to be his next cia director. we're going to get to john brennan here momentarily. but the bigger battle will be over former senator of nebraska chuck hagel. president says his top intelligence board adviser is the best man for the job. >> in the senate, i came to admire his courage and his judgment, his willingness to speak his mind, even if it wasn't popular. even if it defies the conventional wisdom. that's exactly the spirit i want on my national security team. the recognition that when it comes to the defense of our country, we are not democrats or

republicans, we are americans. each of us has a responsibility. chuck has said, to be guided not by the interests of our party or our president, even, by by the interests of our country. so, chuck, i thank you afor agreeing to serve once more. >> mr. president, i'm grateful for this opportunity to serve this country again. and especially its men and women in uniform and their families. these are people who give so much to this nation every day, with such dignity and selflessness. this is particularly important at a time as we complete our mission in afghanistan and support the troops s and milit families who have sacrificed so much over more than a decade of war. i'm also grateful for an opportunity to help continue to strengthen our country and strengthen our country's

alliances and advance global freedom, decency and humanity as we help build a better world for all mankind. >> so who is chuck hagel? he is a republican from nebraska, served on the senate foreign relations committee, also served in vietnam where he earned not just one, but two purple hearts and now he's the target of many, many critics who say chuck hagel should not be secretary of defense because he has spoken out against gay people, sanctions against iran has been weak in his support for israel. my next guest is among hagel's critics. he is philip turzian, a literary editor at "the weekly standard." welcome to you. >> welcome. hello. >> you say -- i roead your piec, you said the fight is on over this nomination, but you're putting your personal opinions, policy aside here, hagel is an eccentric choice. give me one big reason why he's so eccentric. >> i think listening to president obama's praise of him

today suggested he's more suited to be head of the department of veterans affairs rather than the department of defense. secretaries of defense, since the consolidation of the services in the late 1940s, have usually been the senior statesman, bipartisan politicians who are much loved on either side of the aisle, or very successful businessman or defense intellectuals. chuck hagel falls into none of those categories. i honor his service in vietnam. but the fact is that we have millions of veterans in america, and i don't think that -- >> but never at the helm of the pentagon. >> well, we had lots of veterans who are at the helm -- >> vietnam specifically, right. >> i think the fact that -- the fact that senator hagel served in vietnam is admirable, but i don't think that means much to the infantry men in afghanistan.

the vietnam war ended 40 years ago. it is as remote to them as world war i was to me growing up. >> let me -- i no he we said let's put personal aside. let's get a little personal, because wolf talked a little while ago to -- wolf blitzer talked to chuck hagel's friend and he said chuck hagel has the experience. he does have the experience to run a large organization, ie the department of defense. here's what he told wolf. >> he saved the uso from bankruptcy. was the president in 1989 to 1990. he's a businessman and run other large organizations very successfully. he has -- he's one of the bluntest people i know. blunt may not always be great, but he's very blunt. he's very fair. he's judicious. he's unsentimental in the sense that he doesn't let emotion get the best of him. he calculates what is i think in the best interests of the organization he's running.

>> so perhaps his willingness to speak up candidly, bluntly, may not be a bad thing, so says this long time friend of the senator's. you disagree? >> i disagree only the sense i don't really understand under what circumstances he would do this. being secretary of defense means two things. it means heading a vast defense establishment and bureaucracy. something that chuck hagel has never done. also means dealing with congress and senator hagel was a -- for good or ill, a cleric senator who didn't have particularly too many friends on the democratic side, and has now probably made some enemies on the republican side. i just think that the president, in -- i think the president's choice of hagel is symbolic based on hagel's skepticism about the iraq war. and i just don't think that that's enough to sustain the very serious business of being the head of the very large and complicated defense establishment.

>> philip turzian, you're not alone in your criticism. we appreciate you coming on and we'll see how the confirmation hearing goes for the senator. thank you. >> you're welcome. some of the country's biggest banks about to pay up big time. and some of that cash actually may be going to you. alison kosik live in new york. first, happy new year. i haven't seen you in a while. >> it has been. >> we're talking billions of dollars for americans who lost their homes to foreclosure. >> right. but keep in mind, this is a big headline, brooke, the $8.5 billion of the settlement. remember, it is being divied out to 4 million people. what this comes from is that scandal from a couple of years ago, banks were accused of rubber stamping f ining foreclo without rubber stamping the paperwork. so now some will be paying up. here are some of the details. what they're going to do is pay

more than $3 billion in cash in payments to borrowers who were foreclosed on in 2009 and 2010 who shouldn't have been. and pay an additional $5.2 billion in noncash assistance, that includes loan modifications and help with short sales. the cash payments will range from just a couple hundred dollars, all the way up to $125,000 depending on what kind of service mistake was related to the foreclosure process. a payment agency will be appointed to work out these details and the fed says borrowers eligible for this can expect to hear from that agent by the end of march. brooke? >> let me ask you quickly about the markets. we know the dow had a huge week up to that whole fiscal cliff debacle was over. how long before investors realize we're in for a cliff 2.0. >> they're realizing it now. it is part of the reason you're seeing a pullback in the market today. also, you know, there is not a lot of news to trade on today. that will change later in the week. corporate earnings season kicks

off after the close on tuesday. alcoa will be reporting. but overall for the earnings season, not really the expectation to see stellar results in the last three months of 2012. thompson reuters expects earnings growth to come in at the slowest rate since 2009. we'll see if the battle in washington impacted companies toward the end of the year. this should be an interesting earnings season to look through. >> first cliff of three to look for, the last week of february. alison kosik, we'll be watching closely. thank you so much. and we have spent so much time talking about the big economic issues, of course. just mentioned fiscal cliff, taxes, deficit. but items we all use every day going to cost a little bit more this year. and that will certainly get our attention. with that, here is christine romans. >> here's what you can expect to pay more for in 2013. you probably already noticed your grocery bill is rising because of the drought last year. gra grains like corn are more expensive and that affects

everything from cereal to snack food and feed for live stock. meat prices will rise win 3% and 4% this year. moving higher, rent prices, rental rateses remore than 5% in december compared with a year ago. more people are choosing to rent instead of own and that means landlords have the upper hand. shipping costs will rise by about 4% on average, that's according to cnn money as the u.s. postal service struggles with its budget problems. the cost for stamps is going up by one penny on january 27th. commuters using public transportation can expect higher subway bus and train fares in major cities this year. chicago transit authority fares will jump as much as 120% on january 14th. wages and incomes are barely budging. and the expiration of the payroll tax holiday means a worker earning 50 grand a year will have $40 less in each biweekly paycheck. so the rising costs of those goods and services will have

some extra bite this year. brooke? more than 100,000 people have signed this online petition to kick piers morgan out of america for his stance on gun control. well, piers will join me live for his very first on air response. i'm brooke baldwin. the news is now. one of the people closest to the president set to lead the nation's spies. what john brennan needs for the future of the controversial drone program. plus, think of it as the going out of business sale. wait until you hear what nasa is trying to sell from the space shuttle program. and it is the match that has got everyone talking. tonight, the irish versus the tide. game on.

absolutely horrifying testimony here and the preliminary hearing for james holmes in colorado. he was accused of killing 12 people and wounding dozens more, that military style assault last summer inside that movie theater in aurora, colorado. he faces in total 166 counts. this preliminary hearing, they say, should last a bunch of days. lonnie philips lost his step daughter in that rampage and joins me from charlotte, north carolina. mr. philips, thank you for coming on. i am sorry about jessica. let me just first begin with why not -- why not go to today's hearing? >> my wife decided that we

really wouldn't be able to stand the emotion involved. and she was right. we got a call from -- we have people there that we communicate with. and one of the police officers testified today that he was the one that picked up our daughter, she was still alive, took her to the hospital where she died and that's one of the reasons that jessica's name was one of the first out there, because she was the only one that the public knew that had actually died. >> so to be sitting in that court and hearing that from that police officer, would, i'm sure, be gut wrenching for you. i understand why you have chosen not to be there, though it sounds like you are staying in touch with people, from what i understand, more than 100 family members, friends of some of those victims are there, either in the court or in a standing room.

what else are they telling you? >> well, 150 plus people there, victims and family members. we have six family members from the aurora theater massacre. and we're in touch -- we had one come up at lunch and give me an update. it is very emotional and traumatic in that courtroom and that's why we chose not to go. we're getting a lot of updates from the family members. we do want to go to one of the hearings and that would be the one where he's sentenced. >> speaking of him and i won't mention his name again, but the shooter, if he were sitting in front of you right now -- >> thank you. >> would you have anything to say to him? >> not really. sandy and i, from the onset,

have not been focused on the shooter. we're going to let the justice system deal with him. we trust that. fortunately we don't have any hatred toward him. he is a troubled soul. and our main goal now is to try to prevent further atrocities, massacres, by doing something in the legislature to prevent these massacres from occurring over and over and over again. >> yes. yes. i understand you're going to washington, sir, tomorrow to meet with the vice president. what do you hope to accomplish? >>i hope to put a face and some emotion into the appeal to the

american people to please not be apathetic toward this problem that our country has, and let's do something about some sensible gun laws, and to tell the american people that we do not want to take guns away. i have a shotgun to protect my home. i don't plan on giving it up. but i would like to see assault weapons, high capacity magazines, background checks, those three factors, if we could get something done, i think we would be going a long way as a country to improve what we're facing now with these massacres that are occurring all too rapidly in our society. >> yep. i'm sick of hearing them, sick of covering them. lonnie phillips, thank you for coming on. i would love to have you back on, i would love to hear how the meeting guys with the vice president, who i know has been meeting with had group trying to figure out if change is possible

in washington. thank you, sir, so much. i appreciate it. i want to talk about the hearing itself. let me bring in cnn legal analyst sunny hostin. on the legal side, the defense is apparently planning on introducing this concept. it is called diminished capacity. what is that? >> sure. it is important to distinguish diminished capacity with insanity, brooke. because so many people are mixing up the two. insanity sort of -- that defense is typically not very successful and it is also in a way a get out of jail free card, many believe. if you're insane, you're not responsible for your actions. in colorado, diminished capacity is different. it is an affirmative defense. it doesn't mean you're not culpable, not responsible for the criminal act. but it does mean that you just couldn't fully comprehend of the nature of the crime and what is important in this case is that means then that you may be guilty of a lesser charge.

as you mentioned in the opening, we're talking about 166 counts. so if he gets to plead guilty to, let's say, manslaughter as opposed to murder, that goes a long way because the district attorney has not determined whether or not to seek the death penalty. and so all of that kind of factors in. does this become a death penalty case? if it is a diminished capacity case, perhaps not because we don't send the mentally ill to death. and so i think you can't really, you know, say enough about how important this defense is to james holmes, this diminished capacity defense. that's what we're hearing about those of us that are following this hearing today. we're hearing a lot of evidence coming in on both sides trying to frame that particular issue, the issue of mental illness. >> i'm still back on lonnie phillips stri s describing the as a tortured soul.

sunny hostin, thanks so much. and this, think of it as spring cleaning. couple of months early, though. nasa looking to unload items from its space shuttle program. chad myers and i, we're going to show you what they're trying to get rid of, some of the stuff you may not believe next.

i love this next story. space geek alert here. are you in the market for a runway? how about a slightly used launchpad? good luck. if you are, all you have to do is give nasa a call. have a lot more where that came from apparently. the orlando sentinel is reporting that nasa is quietly

putting, maybe not so quietly anymore, most of the kennedy space center facilities in florida up for sale or lease. now that the space shuttle program is over, federal funding for maintenance will dry up bit end of the year. which means machinery will start to break down. it will become unusable and that is something that nasa does not want to happen. so chad myers is here. i'm verklempt. the idea of having launchpad 39-a in my backyard is super cool. >> how would you like to have the backyard? the whole space cost. they realized they don't have the money to tear it down. and they don't have the money to keep it up. so at some point in time you're right there on the ocean it going to rust, will all fall apart. they hope that they get enough money from leases to be able to keep it running. >> okay. >> welcome back to the mother ship. i haven't seen you for a month. >> nice to see you. happy new year. i missed you. >> you've been in new orleans, wherever you've been. >> i know. >> so they have this stuff that

they don't know what to do with, like a runway, like a 15,000 foot runway. >> they want to keep it where it is and have somebody pay to lease it. >> wouldn't that be a great racetrack, like the 15,000 -- >> in my backyard, if i had that kind of yard. >> here is some things they know, it is all going to fall apart at some point. processing facility, that really tall building that -- that they put the saturn 5 together in, we can make a huge jumpy in there. a kangazoo forever. the launch computer center there, those are all hurricane proof windows. they just don't need the stuff anymore. >> private space enterprise will come in and -- >> sure. boeing picked up a couple of pieces on the dl, on the down low baur low, because they're going to do things with these buildings. they have a lot of quality, a lot of use, not just for the

juices they we uses they were first made for. >> hopefully people will put the money toward buying or leasing, can keep them there and that will keep people employed as well. a sensitive issue on the space coast. chad myers, thank you. up next, how john brennan at the cia could mean big changes in president obama's drone program. you'll hear from someone who investigated the so-called kill list. [ male announcer ] this is bob, a regular guy with an irregular heartbeat. the usual, bob? not today. [ male announcer ] bob has afib: atrial fibrillation not caused by a heart valve problem, a condition that puts him at greater risk for a stroke. [ gps ] turn left. i don't think so.

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four women and a 12-year-old child in california this . this is from the 1970s. now he can add 25 to life for his sentence. >> the best time is at night, nighttime. >> one time contestant on the dating game, he was sentenced today after admitting last month to murdering two young women in new york city, more than 30 years ago. near the bottom of the hour here, i'm brooke baldwin. john brennan may have to fight for the cia director's job. but it is a fight the white house is ready to take on. just as it plans to fight for chuck hagel's nomination to run the defense department. in nominating brennan, the president says he hopes the senate will act quickly adding that brennan is extremely qualified for the job. john brennan says if he's confirmed, it will be, quote, the honor of my life. >> the women and men of the cia are among the most dedicated,

courageous, selfless and hard work individuals who have ever served this country. at great personal risk and sacrifice, they have made countless and valuable contributions to our national security and to the safety and security of all americans. most times the successes will never be known outside the hallowed halls of langly and the oval office. leading the agency in which i served for 25 years would be the greatest privilege as well as the greatest responsibility of my professional life. >> a little background for you. brennan is considered a cia insider, having spent 25 years at the agency. and he's already the administration's point man on terrorism. he's been playing a key role in the planning of the raid that killed osama bin laden. but, there are problems. there are questions when it comes to brennan's nomination. you see, he served in the bush white house that expanded the use of tough interrogation techniques including

waterboarding even though he said he did not support that. and when domes comes to the dr program, which the obama administration is using with deadly effect, brennan is making a moral argument in favor of using the drones calling them part of war. now the drone war is expanding to yemen. >> the thing about john brennan is that he has made -- argued persuasively for drones. i don't see him sort of putting on the brakes at all at the cia. >> what about the opposite of putting on the brakes? do you see speeding up? >> sort of wherever he has gone he has sped up the program. he is the spokesperson for the drone program. >> that was tom junod. want to bring in pentagon correspondent barbara starr in los angeles for us today. and let's talk about john brennan, his chances. do you think he will for most part sail through those hearings? >> well, i think many people

believe he will be confirmed by the senate, but there will be a lot of talk, a lot of questions. it is very likely to be quite a fiery confirmation hearing before the senate intelligence committee. this gives the senators the chance in public to ask him about everything from the benghazi diplomatic compound attack to drone warfare. and really to focus in perhaps on where the cia is going after all these years of war in iraq, war in afghanistan, now drone warfare, as you point out, in pakistan, in yemen, in so many places that we don't really know about. what is the role of the cia, how is the cia partnering up with military troops around the world, where does it all really go from here? this gives them the real opportunity to get them in front of the public in front of tv cameras and ask him these questions, brooke. >> let me ask about chuck hagel. you have to deal with the looming spending cuts, which you know so intimately covering the

pentagon for us. do we know where chuck hagel stands on the pentagon's budget specifically? >> well, he has long been an advocate of cutting military spending. he has spoken in the past often about the -- his belief there is bloat in the pentagon budget. so what are we looking at here? in the next couple of months, congress comes back, struggles with the budget, with the fiscal cliff, with the so-called sequestration, perhaps another $500 billion over 10 years in pentagon spending cuts. where will hagel come out on this? because he will be facing, of course, very tough -- very tough lobby by defense contractors who want to preserve spending. many members of congress who see defense spending traditionally as jobs in their districts, not going to give it up so easy, even though they talk about cutting defense spending. so he's going to have to work this problem. it is sort of generally said that hagel has the political

skills after being a senator for so many years to operate in washington and do this. but the pentagon is a huge organization. i think one question is will he have the management skills inside the government bureaucracy to carry all of this out? >> good friend of his said to us, last hour, he's the bluntest man he's ever known. barbara starr, thank you so much. veteran sky diver goes missing midflight. and search crews in the rugged mountainous region of washington state face danger looking for this missing man. a live report on the search next. ♪

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to washington state, east of

seattle. search teams have been scouring the rugged cascade foothills. they're looking for a man by the name of curt ruppert from florida. he vanished on thursday after jumping out of a helicopter at some 6500 feet in the air. but here's the thing. he wasn't just skydiving. he was wearing a special winged suit allowing him to glide through the air rather than simply free fall. but the search for ruppert has been called off for now because of dense fog. >> trees, rocks, cliffs. it is very dangerous environment. >> sergeant cindy west from the wing county sheriff's department joins me on the phone from seattle. so, sergeant, thank you for calling in. i understand that authorities initially have been using cell phone pings trying to locate him. are you getting any sign from him whatsoever? >> i'm sorry. i can barely hear you. i think we have a bad

connection. >> sergeant, can you hear me now? >> oh, this is never fun on live tv. cindy west, let me try one more time. let me ask about this man. >> i can hear you now. >> you do hear me. here's what i was asking. i know that folks in the sheriff's department using pings from the cell phone, trying to get a location. are you getting anything from him right now? >> no, unfortunately the pings we were getting from the cell phone were probably prior to the jump. we believe he either turned the cell phone off prior to the jump or after the jump it was damaged. and in keep in mind it doesn't give you an exact gps location, it gives you a general triangulation. based on that, the flight pattern of the helicopter, we narrowed it down to the area we thought was the most probable area he was in. unfortunately we spent four days searching the area and the only areas left to search are areas that are basically -- not able to search on the ground. they're steep cliffs and ravines, and when the weather clears, we'll hopefully get our helicopter back up there to

look. >> i imagine what is also making this difficult, and i'm no expert in winged suits, but instead of someone just free falling out of a helicopter which would help you pinpoint a location, he could have flown anywhere. >> that's exactly correct. that's part of the issue here is that from what we understand, initially we thought he was probably flying 50 to 60 miles per hour, but after talking to his jump friends, we found more likely he was traveling 80 to 100 miles per hour which -- feet per second means in just a matter of a few seconds he's going to be over a large area. and then the other issue is we don't know exactly what direction he went. we know that the direction he intended to go. but according to his fellow sky divers, if something happened, he would make a diversion right or left, to try to, you know, for safety. and so we have -- we figured probably about a 14-square mile area he could be in. >> the window given the weather and the cold is probably

shrinking here as you are able to finally get out and hopefully find him. sergeant cindy west, thank you. good luck. in just a couple of hours, game on. two big college football teams, alabama and notre dame face off in miami for the bcs national championship game. guess who is calling in? this man, hall of famer and alabama alum joe namath joining me next. need a tow or lock your keys in the car, geico's emergency roadside assistance is there 24/7. oh dear, i got a flat tire. hmmm. uh... yeah, can you find a take where it's a bit more dramatic on that last line, yeah? yeah i got it right here. someone help me!!! i have a flat tire!!! well it's good... good for me. what do you think? geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. nothing.

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two huge college football teams with impressive football pasts playing for all the glory tonight. alabama, notre dame, the bcs game tonight. one team's past has been a little better lately. the crimson tide is achieving dynasty status in college football. alabama looking for their third championship in the last four years. as for notre dame, they're more of a rising from the ashes story. the undefeated and top ranked

fighting irish are playing their first championship game since 1988. guess who is on the phone with me right now. football hall of famer, alabama alum, host of owe joe namath hour," welcome. >> thank you, brooke. it is great to be talking with you anytime. and especially with the tide in the hunt for the championship. >> i'm sure. i'll get you to do a little roll tide for me in a minute. obviously this is not going to be an objective interview. let me throw that out there. we know how you bleed, joe namath. alabama and notre dame, two teams, rich in tradition. i want you to put this game in perspective for me tonight, for a cnn audience. how huge is this? >> how huge it is, i couldn't tell you other than it is for a ballplayer, it certainly is the top that you can achieve as a

collegiate athlete, a national championship, at least that's my way of looking at it. each level that we participate, whether it be high school, even pop warner, college, the next step, it is like your goal and a dream come true. so you cherish it and relationships that you've developed with that group of people for the rest of your life. >> how did that affect you? i know things were different, you didn't have the bcs bowl game in the '60s. but when you led the crimson tide to a championship in 1964, what do you remember about that? >> it was not only a thrill, but it was an education as well. at that age in life, i really understood that it was about us, us, not me. starting with our coach and our players and all, knowing how difficult it was to achieve, one

guy doesn't do it. and one guy doesn't excel without the help of his peers and that's the way life is. so going through that in college and learning how important it was to establish the kind of relationships that is necessary to continue to grow, that's what that was about. that was part of it. sure, the achievement, but knowing it is more than you. >> of course. you have your teammates. come on, imagine these guys and i could be wrong, but are they just so incredibly nervous right now or are they just focused? >> well, i think that -- well, i know, i know the nerves are there, actually they have been basically climbing the walls without literally doing it since last night. you get up today, it is one of the longest days of their lives, and this is a positive day. usually, you know, time drags on

when something is negative, but this is a positive day but they can't wait to get out there. so it is a long day. and all of them are nervous, of course. just like, well, no just likes, you're nervous, but when you learn to direct that nervous energy in a positive direction, only through preparation, if you're prepared, you'll be ready. it will be fun. >> i embrace nerves sometimes. i remind myself it means i care, i care so much about something. finally, how about the big guarantee you made at super bowl iii. want to make any guarantees for me tonight in. >> yes, i do. i guarantee the crimson tide respects the bunch they'll be facing tonight. notre dame, they're in this game because they went 12-0 undefeated and know how to win. >> give me a roll tide, joe namath. >> roll, tide, roll! >> good luck. as an objective journalist, good luck to the fighting irish as

well. if you want to catch up with joe, he's on twitter. @realjoea @realjoenamath. all you need to unlock your brain power is your iphone your ipad or a laptop. and some insects in a kit called the spiker box. chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta has this preview of "the next list." >> this is brand-new stuff. this allows us to do neuroscience with the actual human being. and we just made it so you can actually have cabs, you can put into your muscles, you'll record the electricity coming from your brain down to your ax yohns on to your muscles and record that voltage. it is pretty neat. >> i'm dr. sanjay gupta. neuroscience in a box? learning about the brain without a ph.d. >> you use cockroaches and

crickets and worms and things that you can find in your backyard, which is why we came up with backyard brains. >> thought he was just a little bit buggy. he knew the marketplace needed these tools to help teach neuroscience. >> what we're trying to do is change neuroscience education. >> this sunday, greg gauge on "the next list." tens of thousands of people want piers morgan deported for his stance on gun control. they have even signed a white house petition. coming up next, piers is about to respond for the very first time on air. don't miss this. ♪ ♪

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the massacre at sandy hook elementary school uncovered a lot of raw emotion on both sides of the gun control argument, including our own piers morgan. >> i honestly don't understand why you would rather have people be victims of a crime than be able to defend themselves. >> you're an unbelievably stupid man, aren't you? >> it seems to me that you're morally obtuse. you seem to prefer being a victim to being able to prevail over the criminal element. and i don't know why you want to

be the criminal's friend. >> what a ridiculous argument. you have absolutely nowhatsoeve. you don't give a damn, do you, about the gun murder rate in america? >> it seems to me that the facts don't bother you, mr. morgan. >> -- murder rates have gone up. you cannot point to one place, chicago, d.c., whether it's in england or -- >> but that's a complete lie. it's a complete lie. in britain, the gun murder rate in britain is 35 a year average. you need to stop repeating a blatant lie about what happens in other countries. >> well, shortly after those fiery exchange, though petition here to deport piers morgan was posted on the white house website. whitehouse.gov. we checked it just a little while ago. it has more than 100,000 signatures.

so let me bring in piers morgan himself. piers morgan, nice to see you. tonight you have a huge show, because you are bringing on the guy who started this petition. looking him straight in the eye, what are you going to tell him? >> a, it hasn't worked. because clearly i'm back on america. i've been on vacation. i got back last night. the customs guy in newarks airport said to me, mr. morgan, you can relax, we're not going to deport you. now to be serious, although it is a fairly trivial matter, it's also a very serious issue that i have been getting this about. i come from a country, as i keep telling these gaub rights lobbyists where we had a sandy hook-style massacre in scotland, in 1996. i think it was 16 5-year-old children killed in a school. as a result, a national handgun ban and an aresult rifle ban. as a result of that, there's been no shooting in a school in

britain since and there's only been two what you could remotely call mass shootings since. the same pattern has repeated in countries. australia, where they've had mass shooting, brought in extensive gun bans. yet these guys come on my show and they keep saying if you have more guns, there is less crime. and it's a complete fallacy. america has the worst gun crime and crime generally of any of the 23 richest countries in the world. but by a multiple. and it has to change. you cannot have so many children, 20 young children, blown to pieces, with a military-style assault weapon, and nothing happen. >> and i know you write, i read your op-ed, you wrote about your 1-year-old daughter, that you would potentially send her to a school like sandy hook. but, you have this prime-time show on cnn. you're on a network that doesn't take sides. do you ever feel like you're blurring the line? >> no, because it's not a

political issue to me. it wasn't a question of being on left or the right. i'm completely baffled why in america the nra and other gun rights groups have allowed this debate and framed this debate in a political manner -- >> but, piers, you have these people on the show, and i'm just asking the question, and you call them stupid or a liar. a lot of critics are out there and they're giving you flack for doing that. how do you respond? >> i think you should have the flack. you put your head over the paraput -- the reality of this is it's too serious to be quiet. and the media generally in america after these gun massacres tends to just go very quiet, very quickly. there's a huge period of mourning for a few days and then that's it. nothing happens. nothing changes. well, if you can't change the gun laws in america, which has the worst gun murder rate of almost anywhere in the world, and has maybe 12,000 people murdered with duaguns a year

compared to 35 in children, if you can't change it after 20 young children are blown to piece, when do you change it? i'm aware it's a sensitive issue. i'm also aware because i've been on the receiving end now that the gun rights people in america will try and frame it as being anti-constitution, anti-second amendment. let me clarify that. i'm not anti the american constitution. i respect an american's right to defend themselves in their home. or defend their family. there's no defense for a civilian in america owning a military-style assault rifle, which can kill up to 100 people in a minute. there's just no defense for it. there's no excuse for it. >> what about the white house? i know when you have these sort of petitions on whitehouse.gov, if you hit a threshold, which it's clearly above that number, the white house has to respond. do you expect them to? >> i don't thing they have to. they've indicated in the past if it goes over 25,000 they will.

clearly, 104,000. there's now a petition to keep me in america. there's also -- which is by americans. there's also a petition in britain to also keep me in america and not allow me back home. i'm looking at the moment of no-man's-land, somewhere in the mid-atlant mid-atlantic. >> it's getting in the bloodstream. you're talking about it and that's what you want to do, is that right? >> i think it's the crucial issue in america right now. you're having so many massacres. aurora. the worst single shooting in american history. 17 people hit. then a shopping mall. mass outrage. then you have 20 children killed in the worst school shooting in history. all this happened in the last few months. something has to give. do you just allow more and more innocent young children to be blown to pieces with these assault rifle weapons that belong purely in the military or in certain elements of the police force? to me, it is a crazy situation, that i can go down to walmart and i'm not allowed to buy six

pacts of sudafed because it's bad for my health but i can arm myself with an assault rifle and buy 6,000 rounds of ammunition on the internet. and commit an outrage. it's got to change. >> i hear your passion. i can't wait to hear you sitting in front of the man for this petition and your deportation. it will be some tv. tonight, 9:00. thank you, sir, appreciate it. >> thanks, brooke.

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